Factors that Lead to Students in Higher Education Wanting to Drop out
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37843/rted.v19i1.793
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Abstract
Among their primary objectives, higher education institutions seek to ensure an effective teaching-learning process and the development of their students’ skills, in order to enhancing their professional, economic, and social development. They must also maintain their institutional prestige and terminal efficiency indicators, which is why student dropout rates represent one of their main challenges. For this reason, the objective of this study was to identify the main factors that motivate university students to drop out. To achieve this, research was conducted using the hypothetical-deductive method, a positivist paradigm, with a quantitative approach, a non-experimental descriptive-correlational design, and a cross-sectional approach. A questionnaire with 28 items was administered to a systematic sample of 112 students. The results show that the main cause of dropping out is academic difficulty, and this occurs during the first three semesters. Other reported factors included personal reasons and educational quality. It was found that gender is not related to the intention to drop out of the difficulty of the program. Overall, it is observed that the causes of this phenomenon are multifactorial, involving both academic and formative aspects; therefore, there is a clear need to strengthen institutional support systems that comprehensively address students’ academic and emotional conditions in accordance with their actual needs.
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